"The unfortunate reality for us is that the forecast that has just been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology suggests the the winds will turn later on in the evening back to a west-north-westerly breeze, which would put some pressure in that area," he said.

"Obviously we hope for the best but we have to plan for the worst, so we'd love to see 5 millimetres in this area, but we're basing our plans on that won't happen, so no surprises in this game.

"We've forcibly evacuated no-one and don't plan to at this stage, but for others who think it could all get a bit too hard for them then we've advised them to make their way to the evacuation centres if that's their choice."

People living in other parts of Little Grove are being advised to put a bushfire survival plan into action.

"We were just returning home from shopping and came round and found the road block," she said.

"Initially we thought there was an accident on the railway here with all this smoke and everything else around, but they've closed the roads down and we can't get home.

"When we left it was fine but now we don't know. Hopefully it was far enough away that we shouldn't have to worry, but the thickness of the smoke, we don't know which way the fire is going. It's just a sit and wait game."

Meanwhile, authorities are planning to transport 100 tourists visiting local attraction Whale World back to the City via ferry.

Whale World manager Greg Russell says people are in good spirits.

"They are anxious to get back to town, they are anxious to get back in before night and of course they're concerned for any property they'll have to leave behind, but generally they're in good spirits," he said.

The city is also hosting more than 3,000 motorbike enthusiasts for the Ulysses Club Annual General Meeting.